If not for the Ron Hemmings unit, Nicola Foster is convinced she wouldn't be here today.
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"This centre has saved my life and that is no exaggeration," she said.
"...Ron Hemmings is a facility where you can just stop; stop the roundabouts of acute care. You can breathe, you can get help every single day, you are cared about, you are looked after and you have hope."
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Mrs Foster, who suffers borderline personality disorder and experiences suicidal thoughts, is loaning her voice to efforts to keep the Kenmore mental health service going.
Mrs Foster and her husband, Robert, from Laggan, have lodged submissions on a Southern NSW Local Health District review of non-acute mental health services across its entire area. It includes Goulburn, Queanbeyan/Yass, Cooma, Bega and Eurobodalla.
A spokeswoman said 15 community submissions had been received and review panel members were meeting with managers, staff, consumers and community as part of the next stage.
It is aimed at "refreshing models of care in line with national and international standards."
Following initial fears that the 12-bed Ron Hemmings inpatient rehabilitation facility would close, Goulburn MP Wendy Tuckerman assured the community this would not happen.
Robert Foster certainly hopes this won't be the case. His wife spent about almost two months in the facility late last year after looking around endlessly for suitable non-acute care.
"It's been a life-changer for Nic," he said.
"She had several stints in Chisholm Ross (Goulburn's acute mental health care unit) but turned a corner from the time she went into Ron Hemmings," he said.
"It enabled her to look at things differently and she can better process things now. She's smiling and feels like she's in control of where she's heading. Ron Hemmings was a calm environment for her and I don't think she would be the same person without it."
Mr Foster told The Post he didn't mind if the facility moved somewhere else, but if it shut altogether, there would be no impetus to resurrect the service in Goulburn.
In her submission, Mrs Foster said unlike the Chisholm Ross Centre where nurses were stretched, those at Hemmings had time to talk to people.
"The nurses will sit with you, help you with strategies, talk about anything that is bothering you, help you remain calm, help you understand your mental illness, and sit and have a cuppa with you," she wrote.
"...This is why Ron Hemmings needs to be open."
Asked whether the Health District would guarantee the unit wouldn't close, a spokeswoman said:
"Southern NSW Local Health District has committed to no job losses or reduction in staffing for non-acute mental health services.
"Provision of quality, safe and contemporary community and inpatient non-acute mental health services will continue across the District, including in Goulburn."
The centre housed an averaged three to nine clients from July, 2020 and February, 2021. It was closed for three weeks in November after the review was announced.
Mrs Tuckerman said both she and the Health District had already assured the community that the unit wasn't closing.
"As the review is still underway it would be presumptuous to comment on the outcomes concerning the model of care provided. We look forward to the review's outcome," she said.
The review panel members are:
- Dr Pradeep Jarabandahalli, psychiatrist, Western Sydney Local Health District
- Sharon McIntyre, deputy director of nursing mental health, Western NSW Local Health District
- Peter Schmiedgen, consumer, BEING Mental Health Consumers.
SNSWLHD director of mental health, alcohol and other drugs, Damien Eggleton, said the review would inform future planning and service delivery.
"We are committed to providing exceptional, consumer-centred, safe and contemporary non-acute mental health services that are accessible to all communities in the district," he said.
"This review is a chance for us to refresh models of care and practices in line with national and international best practice."
However its completion has been delayed one month due to panel members' availability. The document, to be completed at the end of April, would be made public, the Health District spokeswoman said.
The Fosters are hoping for a positive outcome. Mr Foster said his wife's management of her mental illness would be a "lifelong journey" but her time in the Ron Hemmings unit had made a huge difference not just to her, but the entire family, including their two young children.
Mrs Foster had a final message for the reviewers.
"I have remained alive because Ron Hemmings exists and I know many others who have remained alive (because of it)," she wrote.
"Out state needs Ron Hemmings. Our district needs Ron Hemmings."
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Louise Thrower
If you have a story to tell, drop me a line at louise.thrower@austcommunitymedia.com.au or call 0418 229 678.
If you have a story to tell, drop me a line at louise.thrower@austcommunitymedia.com.au or call 0418 229 678.
